Tye Campbell , Sheunghyun Yeo , Mindy Green , Erin Rich

DOI: Vol.26(No.1) 1-17, 2023

Over the last three decades, there has been an increasingly strong emphasis on group-centered approaches to mathematics teaching. One primary responsibility for teachers who use group-centered instruction is to “check in”, or intervene, with groups to monitor group learning and provide mathematical support when necessary. While prior research has contributed valuable insight for successful teacher interventions in mathematics group work, there is a need for more fine-grained analyses of interactions between teachers and students. In this study, we co-conducted research with an exemplary middle grade teacher (Ms. Green) to learn about fine-grained details of her intervention practices, hoping to generate knowledge about successful teacher interventions that can be expanded, replicated, and/or contradicted in other contexts. Analyzing Ms. Green’s practices as an exemplary case, we found that she used exceptionally short interventions (35 seconds on average), provided space for student dialogue, and applied four distinct strategies to support groups to make mathematical progress: (1) observing/listening before speaking; (2) using a combination of social and analytic scaffolds; (3) redirecting students to task instructions; (4) abruptly walking away. These findings imply that successful interventions may be characterized by brevity, shared dialogue between the teacher and students, and distinct (and sometimes unnatural) teaching moves.

Collaborative learning, Mathematics, Group work, Teacher intervention

Jihyun Hwang

DOI: Vol.26(No.1) 19-30, 2023

This study analyzes the tasks selected and implemented by pre-service mathematics teachers to support students' development of epistemic actions. Data was collected from 20 students who participated in a mathematics education curriculum theory course during one semester, and multiple data sources were used to gather information about the microteaching sessions. The study focused on the tasks selected and demonstrated during microteaching by pre-service teachers. The results suggest that providing students with a variety of learning opportunities that engage them in different combinations of abductive and deductive epistemic actions is important. The tasks selected by pre-service teachers primarily focused on understanding concepts, calculation, and reasoning. However, the use of engineering tools may present challenges as it requires students to engage in two epistemic actions simultaneously. The study's findings can inform the development of more effective approaches to mathematics education and can guide the development of teacher training programs.

pre-service teachers, mathematics education, epistemic actions, tasks, microteaching, engineering tools

Sunghwan Hwang , Eunhye Flavin

DOI: Vol.26(No.1) 31-38, 2023

Mathematics educators have emphasized the importance of language use in mathematics education. However, previous studies have predominantly focused on the spoken language used in mathematics classrooms, which provides limited information on the written language used by mathematics teachers. The written language reflects the characteristics of the teacher community and social, cultural, and political contexts. Moreover, the written language affects teachers' instructional practices and their students’ mathematics learning experiences. Therefore, this study aims to review a study conducted by Lee and Kim (2022) investigating changes in mathematics teachers’ pedagogical lexicons.

written-language, lexicon, mathematics teacher, teacher community

Valerie N. Long

DOI: Vol.26(No.1) 39-43, 2023

Choosing to See: A Framework for Equity in the Math Classroom is a book intended to be a practical tool for teachers to build empowering mathematics classrooms for their students from marginalized groups. Pamela Seda and Kyndall Brown provide concrete guidance using seven key principles, the ICUCARE (pronounced “I See You Care”) Equity Framework, to provide a pathway for teachers for how to meaningfully make their classrooms a more equitable space for all students.

Equity, Mathematics teaching, Mathematics learning, Social justice